Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Working in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is increasingly complex and is also physically, cognitively and emotionally demanding. Although the negative emotions of work-related stress have been well studied, the opposite perspective of work engagement might also provide valuable insight into how these emotional demands may be countered. This study focused on the work engagement of ICU professionals and explored the complex relationship between work engagement, job demands and advantageous personal resources. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey study among ICU professionals in a single-centre university hospital. Work engagement was measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, which included items about opinions related to the respondent's work environment. Additionally, 14 items based on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy were included to measure empathic ability. A digital link to the questionnaire was sent in October 2015 to a population of 262 ICU nurses and 53 intensivists. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 61% (n=193). Work engagement was negatively related both to cognitive demands among intensivists and to emotional demands among ICU nurses. No significant relationship was found between work engagement and empathic ability; however, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were highly correlated with work engagement. Only the number of hours worked per week remained as a confounding factor, with a negative effect of workload on work engagement after controlling for the effect of weekly working hours. CONCLUSION: Work engagement counterbalances work-related stress reactions. The relatively high workload in ICUs, coupled with an especially heavy emotional burden, may be acknowledged as an integral part of ICU work. This workload does not affect the level of work engagement, which was high for both intensivists and nurses despite the known high job demands. Specific factors that contribute to a healthy and successful work life among ICU professionals need further exploration.

While the pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is still interesting in specific situations, there are many alternatives. A group of experts from different backgrounds discusses their respective interests and limitations of the various techniques and related measured variables. The goal of this review is to highlight the conditions in which the alternative devices will suffice and when they will not or when these alternative techniques can provide information not available with PAC. The panel concluded that it is useful to combine different techniques instead of relying on a single one and to adapt the "package" of interventions to the condition of the patient. As a first step, the clinical and biologic signs should be used to identify patients with impaired tissue perfusion. Whenever available, echocardiography should be performed as it provides a rapid and comprehensive hemodynamic evaluation. If the patient responds rapidly to therapy, either no additional monitoring or pulse wave analysis (allowing continuous monitoring in case potential degradation is anticipated) can be applied. If the patient does not rapidly respond to therapy or complex hemodynamic alterations are observed, pulse wave analysis coupled with TPTD is suggested.

BACKGROUND:ANDROMEDA-SHOCK is an international, multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing peripheral perfusion-targeted resuscitation to lactate-targeted resuscitation in patients with septic shock in order to test the hypothesis that resuscitation targeting peripheral perfusion will be associated with lower morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE:To report the statistical analysis plan for the ANDROMEDA-SHOCK trial. METHODS:We describe the trial design, primary and secondary objectives, patients, methods of randomization, interventions, outcomes, and sample size. We describe our planned statistical analysis for the primary, secondary and tertiary outcomes. We also describe the subgroup and sensitivity analyses. Finally, we provide details for presenting our results, including mock tables showing baseline characteristics, the evolution of hemodynamic and perfusion variables, and the effects of treatments on outcomes. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:According to the best trial practice, we report our statistical analysis plan and data management plan prior to locking the database and initiating the analyses. We anticipate that this procedure will prevent analysis bias and enhance the utility of the reported results.

BACKGROUND:Septic shock is a highly lethal condition. Early recognition of tissue hypoperfusion and its reversion are key factors for limiting progression to multiple organ dysfunction and death. Lactate-targeted resuscitation is the gold-standard under current guidelines, although it has several pitfalls including that non-hypoxic sources of lactate might predominate in an unknown proportion of patients. Peripheral perfusion-targeted resuscitation might provide a real-time response to increases in flow that could lead to a more timely decision to stop resuscitation, thus avoiding fluid overload and the risks of over-resuscitation. This article reports the rationale, study design and analysis plan of the ANDROMEDA-SHOCK Study. METHODS:ANDROMEDA-SHOCK is a randomized controlled trial which aims to determine if a peripheral perfusion-targeted resuscitation is associated with lower 28-day mortality compared to a lactate-targeted resuscitation in patients with septic shock with less than 4 h of diagnosis. Both groups will be treated with the same sequential approach during the 8-hour study period pursuing normalization of capillary refill time versus normalization or a decrease of more than 20% of lactate every 2 h. The common protocol starts with fluid responsiveness assessment and fluid loading in responders, followed by a vasopressor and an inodilator test if necessary. The primary outcome is 28-day mortality, and the secondary outcomes are: free days of mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy and vasopressor support during the first 28 days after randomization; multiple organ dysfunction during the first 72 h after randomization; intensive care unit and hospital lengths of stay; and all-cause mortality at 90-day. A sample size of 422 patients was calculated to detect a 15% absolute reduction in mortality in the peripheral perfusion group with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. CONCLUSIONS:If peripheral perfusion-targeted resuscitation improves 28-day mortality, this could lead to simplified algorithms, assessing almost in real-time the reperfusion process, and pursuing more physiologically sound objectives. At the end, it might prevent the risk of over-resuscitation and lead to a better utilization of intensive care unit resources. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03078712 (registered retrospectively March 13th, 2017).

Hyperlactatemia is a strong predictor of mortality in diverse populations of critically ill patients. In this article, we will give an overview of how lactate is used in the intensive care unit. We describe the use of lactate as a predictor of outcome, as a marker to initiate therapy and to monitor adequacy of initiated treatments.

INTRODUCTION. The presence of a hypoperfusion context determines huge differences in mortality and morbidity among septic shock patients. The purpose of this study was to explore if the normalization of capillary refill time (CRT) after 6 hours of resuscitation is associated to decrease in morbidity (HVHF, Mechanical Ventilation, ICU and Hospital length of stay) or mortality in S-3 septic shock patients. METHODS. Retrospective analysis of a prospectively filled database of ninety S-3 septic shock patients treated at an academic ICU. Pa- tients were classified according to the presence of persistent abnormal CRT (>3 sec) vs. normal CRT after 6 hours of intense treatment. These subgroups were compared according to demographic, hemodynamic, perfusion parameters, NE requirements. RESULTS. 90 patients with septic shock were enrolled; the main demographic and clinical variables are shown in the table. Persistent abnormal CRT after 6 hours of resuscitation is a predictor of HVHF requirement (OR: 3.37 95%CI 1.14-10.24, p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS. Persistent abnormal peripheral perfusion predicts requirement of HVHF as a rescue therapy in septic shock patients. (Table Presented)

BACKGROUND.Abnormal central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) reflects an disbalance between oxygen demand and oxygen supply.In addition, weaning from mechanical ventilation by a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) results in a significant increase in oxygen demand.Therefore, we hypothesized that the presence of low ScvO2 at the beginning of SBT would be a risk factor for weaning failure.METHODS.In a multicenter observational study, patients mechanically ventilated for more than 24h and clinically ready for a SBT were studied.Study variables were recorded at baseline, 2min, 30min, and at the end of the SBT.Decisions to extubate where taken by the attending physician based on their usual practice without knowledge of ScvO2 levels.Weaning failure was defined as a decision not to extubate at the end of the SBT, or reintubation within 48h after extubation.The baseline values of ScvO2 were categorized in quartiles.One-way ANOVA test and kruskal wallis test were used to analyze parametric and nonparametric continuous variables.A Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables.Multivariate regression analysis (corrected for the presence of a history of cardiac dysfunction) was used to find independent associations between ScvO2 and weaning failure.RESULTS.204 patients from 5 centers were included.Demographic and clinical characteristic are show in the Table 192.156 (76%) patients were successfully weaned.Of the patients that failed weaning (n = 48), 37 (77%) were not extubated at the end of the SBT, and 11 (23%) were reintubated within 48h.At baseline patients that failed to wean had lower central venous pressure, higher respiratory rate, and lower ScvO2 (Table 192).Sixty patients (29%) patients had a ScvO2 less than 70%.Multivariate regression analysis revealed the 25th quartile (ScvO2 = 63 +/- 4%) to be an independent risk factor for weaning failure OR 2.78 95% CI (1.09-7.08; P = 0.03).No other variables recorded were related to weaning failure.CONCLUSIONS.In a mixed group of critically ill patients ready for a SBT after at least 24h of mechanical ventilation, a low ScvO2 at the start of the SBT was an independent risk factor for a failure to wean

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A discussion of recent research exploring the feasibility of perfusion-guided resuscitation of acute circulatory failure with a focus on lactate and microcirculation. RECENT FINDINGS: Upon diagnosis of shock, hyperlactemia is associated with poor outcome and, under appropriate clinical circumstances, may reflect inadequate tissue perfusion. Persistent hyperlactemia despite resuscitation is even more strongly correlated with morbidity and mortality. Importantly, there is minimal coherence between lactate trends and static hemodynamic measures such as blood pressure, especially after the initial, hypovolemic phase of shock. During this early period, lactate guided-resuscitation is effective and possibly superior to hemodynamic-guided resuscitation. Similar to hyperlactemia, impaired microcirculation is ubiquitous in shock and is evident even in the setting of hemodynamic compensation (i.e., occult shock). Moreover, persistent microcirculatory derangement is associated with poor outcome and may reflect ongoing shock and/or long-lasting damage. Although the wait continues for a microcirculation-guided resuscitation trial, there is progress toward this goal. SUMMARY: Although questions remain, a multimodal perfusion-based approach to resuscitation is emerging with lactate and microcirculation as core measures. In this model, hyperlactemia and microcirculatory derangement support the diagnosis of shock, may help guide resuscitation during the initial period, and may reflect resuscitation efficacy and iatrogenic harm (e.g., fluid overload).

BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common form of vital organ dysfunction in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and is associated with poor outcomes. Adherence to guideline recommendations pertaining to delirium is still suboptimal. AIMS: We performed a survey aimed at identifying barriers for implementation that should be addressed in a tailored implementation intervention targeted at improved ICU delirium guideline adherence. DESIGN: The survey was conducted among ICU professionals. METHODS: An online survey was conducted among 360 ICU health care professionals (nurses, physicians and delirium consultants) from six ICUs in the southwest of the Netherlands as part of a multicentre prospective implementation project [response rate: 64% of 565 invited; 283 (79%) were nurses]. RESULTS: Although the majority (83%) of respondents considered delirium a common and major problem in the ICU, we identified several barriers for implementation of a delirium guideline. The most important barriers were knowledge deficit, low delirium screening rate, lack of trust in the reliability of delirium screening tools, belief that delirium is not preventable, low familiarity with delirium guidelines, low satisfaction with physician-described delirium management, poor collaboration between nurses and physicians, reluctance to change delirium care practices, lack of time, disbelief that patients would receive optimal care when adhering to the guideline and the perception that the delirium guideline is cumbersome or inconvenient in daily practice. CONCLUSION: Although ICU professionals consider delirium a serious problem, several important barriers to adhere to guidelines on delirium management are still present today. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Identification of implementation barriers for adherence to guidelines pertaining to delirium is feasible with a survey. Results of this study may help to design-targeted implementation strategies for ICU delirium management.